The session on Emerging Technologies, at TiE-ISB Connect, was a refreshing one. For most of the conference, one heard what one has been hearing at conferences at least once a month. Rajesh Jain delved into his theory of mobiles as network computers - teleputors. The iPhone (he has one) hints at what mobiles can become. The teleputor will be something of a dockable phone that can connect to a large screen. We’ll also move from a reference (search focused) web to a incremental web - from the www to the nnn - now, new and near. For example: if a flight is delayed and someone posts it, then a service that gets that data for us immediately, and also allows us to post a response. We’ll also see a switch from search to subscriptions. Since everyone is creating content, users want to pick and choose what they want to receive; attached to that is “invertising” or invited advertising and permission marketing.

The opportunity in India and link to the pdf of the presentation in the extended text

Opportunity in India: We need to look at creating the next giants out of India. No one expected Google (NSDQ: GOOG) to become so dominating. We have some advantages - large domestic market, low startup costs, and a lack of legacy that allows us to leapfrog existing technologies. Other opportunities involve using Bollywood as an anchor for entertainment; Rajshri Media (one of Jain’s investments) is experimenting with longform content. Apparently, users spend, on an average, 30-40 minutes on streaming. (Ed: very little for a 3 hour movie, though longer than the max 10 minute clips that YouTube offers). Another opportunity is software as a service, providing education for 200 million people, development of rural infrastructure and services. However, this needs leadership - a bold, big vision; it requires ecosystem thinking, where different groups can come together and create multiple companies and develop an ecosystem. Failure is a part of the terrain, and we need more serial entrepreneurs.

The PDF of his presentation is here